Smoking has been ‘Public Enemy #1’ in the context of public health within Australia for decades. Thankfully smoking participation rates have declined so much that over the last two decades the number of Australians who smoke has dropped by half to only 13%. There is however a new public health issue gaining attention – sedentary behaviour – in particular long periods of sitting!
Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour (in particular sitting) has significant deleterious health effects such as:
147% increased risk of heart disease
112% increased risk of Type 2 diabetes
49% increased risk of mortality
These statistics are worrying – especially when coupled with the fact that 58% Australians spend 39 hours a week (or more) in sedentary behaviours; thus living with those aforementioned increased health risks right now! In light of these statistics it comes as no surprise that 66% of Australians are overweight or obese!
